SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND
Isaiah 55
The Bible is full of wonderful gracious invitations. Isaiah 55 begins with a call to the thirsty to come to the waters. This is in order to quench, not a physical thirst, but a spiritual thirst.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
Those who seek to be made righteous through the Lord Jesus Christ are granted the thirst-quenching experience of eternal life in Him.
Jesus said to the woman at the well, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).
If faith awakens a sense of need in our souls, it is to Jesus that we must go to satisfy that need. Then we will receive the Holy Spirit, and not only quench our own thirst and find our rest in Him, but we will become channels of His blessing to other needy souls.
As water was symbolically poured out at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood in the Temple and called out, “If anyone thirsts, let Him come to me and drink” (John 7:37).
What do we need to purchase this water of salvation?
Nothing at all! It is a free gift of the true and living God.
All the spiritual refreshment we need, symbolised by water and wine and milk, is ours without money and without price. We just need to ask God for the forgiveness of our sins through the Lord Jesus Christ.
It costs us nothing, because Jesus paid the full price of the penalty for our sins when He gave His life in our place on the Cross at Calvary. There He knew pain and suffering, and even cried out in His own anguish, “I thirst” (John 19:28).
It is in the nature of man to make heavy work of his religion. We seek to establish our own righteousness, by trying to abstain from the evil that so naturally arises in our hearts. We seek to cancel out our own sins by doing good deeds. All this is to spend money for what is not bread, and our wages for what does not satisfy.
The prophet Isaiah cries out elsewhere:
“I will declare your righteousness and your works, for they will not profit you” (Isaiah 57:12).
The same prophet warns us:
“We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
We are encouraged to eat of the true spiritual food, which is to partake of the benefits of the salvation found only in Jesus. Then we shall have an abundance of all that is good for eternal, never-dying souls.
What are we to do?
We are to listen, and to hear what the Lord is saying to us. With our physical ears we listen to the Gospel in the reading and preaching of God’s Holy Bible. Blessed is the man who listens to wisdom, and who hears the quiet words of the wise. Blessed are those privileged to hear the words of Jesus, and His call to their heart.
We are to come to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, repenting of our sins, and accepting the free gift of His love. He makes a covenant with those who come to Him, granting spiritual and eternal life.
The prophets taught that the only sure way of salvation was through a certain descendant of Israel’s King David. That descendant is our Lord Jesus Christ who came to call Israel to repentance, and to provide for the salvation of all nations upon the earth. People from every land flock to Him as the only Saviour of sinners, and thus does He glorify God the Father.
We are exhorted to seek the LORD, while He may be found. If we seek Him with all our heart, and all our soul, we will find Him. Then He will rain righteousness upon us, making us righteous through the Lord Jesus Christ. He will bring life to the barren land of our hearts. He will protect us in the day of His anger against a world that has refused Him.
If we seek the LORD, we will certainly be satisfied. He is not far from any one of us.
When should we seek Him?
We should seek Him while He may be found. We should seek the Creator in the days of our youth, before we become so set in our ways that it becomes difficult to hear Him. We should seek Him in the ripeness of our years, while there is still breath in our mouths to call out for His mercy upon our souls.
We should call upon Him while he is near, while the call of the Gospel is still ringing in our ears. Now is the set time for the LORD to favour His people: so do not leave until tomorrow what you must do today.
We should pray to Him in an acceptable time. We should seek His salvation right at this present moment, while He is near to help. The Apostle Paul says: “Now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). As we hear His voice today, we must not harden our hearts nor provoke Him, but respond positively to the call of the Gospel.
We are instructed to forsake sin.
If we try and cover over our sins, and pretend they are not there, we will fail. If we confess our sins, God will have mercy and forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We are no longer to walk in the way of wickedness, nor to entertain unrighteous thoughts. We are to turn to our merciful LORD, to the true God, who abundantly pardons the sins of His people out of the infinite riches of His grace.
His thoughts are not our thoughts: nor are our ways His ways. His ways are unsearchable: they are past finding out. We must surrender the evil imagination and the evil way, and follow after the way of Christ, with a pure heart and a pure mind.
Jesus says:
“Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30).
When we have sought Him and found Him, we must not cease from praise to the One who has forgiven our sin. In Bible imagery, not only does everything that has breath Praise the Lord, but also the trees clap their hands, and the hills rejoice! All creation: animal, vegetable and mineral, praises the Lord. Redeemed mankind, therefore, should not exempt himself.
